Volume 1 - CH 13

As soon as the two old ladies, Alme’s former colleagues, left the shop, they were replaced by another pair of friends.

Their cheerful, unreserved voices echoed through the shop.

“Hey! Alme! Congrats on opening an ice cream shop!”

“Alme! I’ve come to visit you right away! There are quite a few customers!”

It was Ena and her fiancé Aiden who came to the shop.

Like Ena, Aiden Maloney is a childhood friend of Alme. He is a military man, and as a swordsman, a fighter who fights demons on the front lines.

He has a loud voice that matches his build, short red hair as bright as the sun, and orange eyes.

When he walked up to Alme with his long stride, Aiden exaggeratedly made a bitter face and said.

“Ena’s told me a lot about you. Um, well, I don’t know what to say about this one…”

“I’m kind of out of sorts when Aiden is concerned about me. You can say whatever you want to say.”

“…Then, to be honest, I think it was the right decision to break up with that cheating bastard!”

Aiden said in a clear, military-like voice. He is apparently consoling Alme for breaking off the engagement. He was a little…loud, though.

He was immediately yelled at by Ena, who slapped him on the back.

“Oops, I’m sorry for raising my voice. Well, I’m glad that Alme seems to be more energetic than I thought. If you were depressed, I thought I’d punch the cheating bastard.”

“Hey, if a soldier hits a civilian, you’ll be in trouble, won’t you? I don’t care about Julio. I’ll do my best at the shop from now on.”

When she said that with a refreshing smile, Aiden stopped his bitter face and had a wide-tooth smile on his face.

“Then, today I have to eat a lot to support Alme’s new start!”

“Yes, I would love to hear your thoughts.”

“Is the milk ice cream you mentioned at lunch the other day white?”

Ena pointed to the ice cream on the counter. Alme jokingly laughs while explaining the menu.

“That’s right, it’s milk ice cream. When I recommended it as Shirotaka-chan ice cream, all the female customers bought it.”

“Then I’ll have one Shirotaka-chan’s ice cream too.”

“Ah, you dare to chose Shirotaka in front of me…”

Aiden pouted and became displeased. While preparing ice cream for two, she asks Aiden for an order.

“What about Aiden? You can combine different types.”

“Then I’ll have berries, oranges and coffee.”

“Okay, hang on.”

His cheeks relaxed as he gave his ice cream order. Aiden ordered another with Ena and shares her perfect taste. They really are an interesting couple.

The ice cream is poured round and Ena’s milk ice cream is decorated to Shirotaka’s specifications.

As she placed the ice cream in front of them as they sit down, Alme pulls a chair from nearby and sits down at the table with them.

Basically, the customer service at a commoner’s store is relaxed. As long as it’s not busy, there’s nothing wrong with relaxing a little like this.

Ena laughed hysterically when she saw Shirotaka-chan’s ice cream, while Aiden had a complicated expression on his face.

‘Wow, so cute! Shirotaka-chan is a wonderful name.”

“Is this a falcon or a chick?”

“It’s hard to make a falcon out of ice cream, so a chick is the best I can do. –Well, eat it before it melts.”

“Itadakimasu,” they said in unison, holding spoons, and the two began filling their mouths with ice cream.

“Yup, it’s sweet and delicious! Shirotaka-chan’s ice cream looks and tastes great!”

“Mmmm! I like this on a hot day.”

“The fruits are very good too. Can you also add more varieties? Peaches, apples, etc.”

“I think oranges are the best among these fruits. They are so refreshing and delicious! Lemon is good too, very refreshing.”

They compared four kinds of ice cream and shared their impressions. At any rate, Alme was relieved that they all seemed to be to their liking.

“Thank you both for your feedback.”

“Oh! I’m glad I was able to eat something delicious before the battle.”

“– Oh, that’s right. Alme.”

Ena suddenly remembered and began to speak.

“The day after tomorrow morning, the Luorio army is scheduled to launch a sortie.”

“Oh…! Is Aiden enlisting again this time?”

“Of course! Even if it’s an elite operation or rather, the site seems to be a little bigger this time, so most of the young people are likely to be taken.”

“That’s… it’s tough out there… be careful. I promised Ena, the shop will be closed on that day, so I’ll go see you off, and I’ll wave to you as hard as I can!”

Aiden replied and looked vaguely at Alme.

‘It’s been a while since Alme came to see me off. Are you the type that gets excited when you see men marching?”

“Hey…I won’t scream.”

It seems that military marches are also seen as a kind of event for military personnel. Going to see the men off is tantamount to having fun in front of the men….

“Ena looks to be up to mischief.”

“Alme is looking for Mr. Shirotaka, right?”

“Ena-chan, hey…! I will support him with pure feelings…!”

“But you’ve never seen him, so don’t you want to see what he looks like, right?”

“Well…I guess…”

She definitely wants to see him. But she is not going to go screaming like some Shirotaka fangirl. Definitely not.

Looking at Alme and Ena, Aiden let out a sullen sigh.

“You’re looking for Shirotaka… why is he so popular?”

“Isn’t he also popular in the military?”

“How can a man say to a man how nice he is!”

“No, it’s not like that… Mr. Shirotaka is the one who heals your injuries, isn’t he? Isn’t everyone relying on him?”

When Alme questioned him about it, Aiden gave her a complicated look.

“I’m really grateful for the healing magic… but no one really has a good impression of the military priests.”

“Oh, why is that?”

“A combatant’s mindset is complicated…”

Aiden said with a sour face and Ena with a troubled smile. Alme was dumbfounded by the appearance of the two.

When Alme scooped up a big bite of orange ice cream and took a bite, Aiden mumbled and began to speak.

“The military priests will send out healing magic for us combatants as we are fighting. But they are heavily protected by a few shield-bearers. While we are being scratched and bitten by the demons, they just send out magic from a safe distance.”

“Since it’s that kind of job, isn’t that fine?”

‘Well, yeah. But it kind of pisses me off…I’m not sure if it’s a good idea from them to be on the front lines, especially when it’s a tough scene. But I feel like they should come forward and fight too!”

Alme doesn’t know what a combatant’s mindset is, but since he says so, she guesses that’s the way it is. Ena scolded him for his bad language and slapped Aiden’s hand.

“The priests are exhausted just by traveling to the battlefield, and if the priests are exhausted, the treatment will be delayed, which will eventually cause damage to us…Many of us are left with aftereffects because the priests were too delicate.”

The healing magic of priests is not all-powerful either.

Healing magic is magic that cures inflammation, removes pain, and speeds up healing by increasing the speed of physical regeneration to the utmost limit.

It is said that if wounds are not treated delicately, they will heal strangely even if healing magic is used.

For example, if magic is used without removing a foreign object stuck in the body, only the flesh will regenerate with the foreign object remaining, and if the lesion is not removed, it will soon recur.

Even when connecting a single bone, if only the minimum magic is used, there will be aftereffects such as numbness and difficulty in moving the bone.

Therefore, priests are required to have the same skills as surgeons in Alme’s previous life. It is said that military priests are especially required to have such skills.

Aiden continued in a sulky tone of voice.

“Even so, no matter how lousy a priest is, they’re paid much better than we are because of their high status, and they’re treated much better in the field…It makes me want to try it for awhile.”

“When I hear you talk like that, well, sure.”

When Alme nodded, Ena asked Aiden this time.

“How is Mr. Shirotaka doing in the field?

“I don’t know about Shirotaka yet. I think he was only instructing the other military priests he brought with him. He has only been doing light work recently, so I don’t think his true nature has come out yet.”

“His true nature is…another bad way of putting it.”

“No, really, the more muddy and exhausting the battle is, the more the true nature comes out, a priest who was boasting will cry and say something like help me, and cling to the underling swordsman. Other than that, it’s serious. The guy who used to be our military priest ran away. Heh… After all, mopping up battles are hard…”

Hearing this story, which Alme doesn’t usually get to hear, she let out a sigh of relief.

She can’t imagine what it must be like to be in a battle so intense that one’s true nature is revealed…but it sounds terrifying.

As she had thought before, when she goes to see off the military this time, she would like to wave her hands to everyone in the military and cheer them on.

When the conversation ended, Aiden let out a cheerful voice as if to change the atmosphere.

“Well, putting aside the bittersweet story, for the time being, if there is information about Shirotaka that seems to lead to sales at Alme’s shop, I’ll get it! If Shirotaka’s favorite food is used on the menu, it will sell, won’t it?”

When Aiden said that in his usual loud voice, the female customers at the shop all turned to him with their eyes staring in interest.

(This…is really going to lead to sales.)

One day, she may add a menu item with the slogan, “Shirotaka also loves _ _ _!